The Dendrobium Orchid was discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century by the Swedish botanist Olaf Schwartz during a trip to the Caribbean. Once in Europe, this plant attracted the attention of many flower growers – the flowers of this plant are very unusual, located not on the “arrows”, but covering the entire stem.
At home, the Dendrobium orchid is unpretentious, and observing simple growing conditions, you can achieve abundant flowering twice a year.
Dendrobium (DENDROBIUM) – one of the largest genera of orchids, covering about 2000 epiphytic and lithophytic species and hybrids.
In the wild, representatives of the genus Dendrobium are found mainly in the Indo-Asian region – China, Japan, north and south of India to the island of Ceylon, the Pacific Islands, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
Types of hybrids of Dendrobium orchids
Dendrobium Stardust – the most famous hybrid (Dendrobium unicum x Dendrobium Ukon). Pseudobulbs are thin in length reaching 50 cm, often have a reddish tint. Leaves are lanceolate, 8 cm long and 3 cm wide, last no more than 2-3 years. Peduncles emerge from internodes. One peduncle has 1 to 5 flowers about 6 cm in diameter from pale yellow to red-orange with darker (often brown) veins on the lip.
Orchid species Dendrobium Stardust “H&R” is distinguished by bright orange flowers.
In room culture, dendrobium phalaenopsis is quite stable, the sill of the east or west window is well suited for keeping, the usual home temperature (+ 15 … + 25 ° C, in summer up to + 35 ° C) and humidity (35-50%).
Orchids are very beautiful:
Dendrobium Anna Green – the flower is yellow-green with a crimson lip;
Dendrobium Bon White, Dendrobium Big White, Dendrobium Snow White – the flowers are white;
Dendrobium Black Beauty – the flower is dark burgundy brown,
Dendrobium Jade Green, Dendrobium Lemon Green – flowers of different shades of yellow.
Recently, miniature plants have increasingly begun to appear on sale – Dendrobium kingianum – a species from Eastern Australia, in culture since 1844.
As you can see in the photo, this Dendrobium orchid reaches a height of about 30-40 cm and has a cylindrical stem. The leaves are predominantly in the upper part of the shoot, oblong, about 6-8 cm long.
The flowers are small pink, blue or purple, fragrant. It blooms at any time of the year, but more often in spring.
Dendrobium King – an orchid of a moderately cold type, quite light-requiring (windows of the east or west direction). The required air humidity is about 40-60%, the optimum temperature during the growth period is + 18… + 25 ° C, in winter + 10… + 16 ° C. For normal growth and development, it is necessary to ensure that the night temperature drops by at least 5 degrees.
Dendrobium leafless (Dendrobium aphyllum) – epiphytic or lithophytic species, widespread in Southeast Asia. Pseudobulbs are long, semi-drooping, multi-leaved. Short peduncles develop at the nodes of last year’s shoots that have dropped the leaves and bear one or three pale pink flowers with a cream fringed lip. Each flower reaches 3-5 cm in diameter. The main peak of flowering occurs in February-May, however, flowering specimens at home can be found almost all year round.
Orchid Dendrobium noble (nobile)
One of the most popular in culture is the Dendrobium noble orchid (nobile). The specific name Dendrobium nobile is derived from the Latin word nobilis, which has several meanings: “famous, noticeable, glorious, famous, noble, noble, noble, excellent and excellent.” The English name is The Noble Dendrobium.
Orchid Dendrobium nobile is a large epiphytic orchid with fleshy, articulate stems, swollen at the nodes, up to 5090 cm high. The leaves are arranged in two rows along the entire length of the stem and live for two years. Short stalks that appear on last year’s or biennial leafless shoots bear 2-4 flowers. The flower is bright pink with white and lilac spots.
On sale, cultivars with soft stems resembling reeds and with flowers of various colors are more common: from pure white and pink to deep purple and blue.
Orchid Dendrobium Phalaenopsis and its photo
Another very popular and unpretentious species in culture is the Dendrobium phalaenopsis Orchid (Dendrobium phalaenopsis) – a large epiphytic plant with lanceolate leaves. Flowers on a long (up to 60 cm) curved peduncle are collected in drooping brushes of 5-7 pcs.
As you can see in the photo of the Dendrobium Phalaenopsis orchid, the color of the flowers varies from light pink to dark crimson. The lip is also colored, but more intensely. Plants bloom for a long time, 1-2 months, sometimes six months. Therefore, dendrobium is also valued as an industrial cut crop.
Care and reproduction of Dendrobium orchids
Dendrobiums are a fairly large and diverse group of plants. In general, with regard to hybrids, we can say that these are orchids of medium difficulty of growing, which require: a well-lit place, without access to direct sunlight, watering as the substrate dries, feeding during the growth and flowering period, warm content in summer and cool dry in winter.
Reproduction of the Dendrobium orchid is carried out by dividing the bush, stem cuttings and air suckers.
